Marie writes: There was a time when Animation was done by slaves with a brush in one hand and a beer in the other. Gary Larson's "Tales From the Far Side" (1994) was such a project. I should know; I worked on it. Produced by Marv Newland at his Vancouver studio "International Rocketship",
it first aired as a CBS Halloween special (Larson threw a party for the
crew at the Pan Pacific Hotel where we watched the film on a big
screen) and was later entered into the 1995 Annecy International
Animated Film Festival, where it won the Grand Prix. It spawned a
sequel "Tales From the Far Side II" (1997) - I worked on that too. Here it is, below.

Marie writes: Now this is something you don't see every day. Behold The
Paragliding Circus! Acrobatic paragliding pilot Gill Schneider teamed
up with his father’s circus class (he operates a school that trains circus performers) to mix and combine circus arts with
paragliding - including taking a trapezist (Roxane Giliand) up for ride
and without a net. Best original film in the 2012 Icare Cup. Video by Director/Filmmaker Shams Prod. To see more, visit Shams Prod.

Marie writes: Ever since he was a boy, photographer John Hallmén has been fascinated by insects. And he's become well-known for photographing the creatures he finds in the Nackareservatet nature reserve not far from his home in Stockholm, Sweden. Hallmén uses various methods to capture his subjects and the results are remarkable. Bugs can be creepy, to be sure, but they can also be astonishingly beautiful...

Attention Ebert Club Members and fellow would-be chefs....drum roll...
Marie writes: At long last, the highly anticipated "The Pot and How to Use it" is set for release! Containing numerous and surprisingly varied recipes for electric rice cookers, it is much more than a cookbook. Originating from Roger's 2008 Nov. blog entry, it includes readers' comments and recipes along side the Grand Poobah's own discerning insights and observations on why and how we cook. 128 pages, paperback format. Sept 21, 2010 release date. Available now for pre-order at Amazon at a discount.

(Click image to enlarge)Chaz visits Roger in the kitchen as he demonstrates the correct way to use the Pot. First, and this is very important; you need to remove the lid... :-)